Course description:

This course is a study of modern Chinese fiction. The historical development of modern Chinese fiction will be introduced and the impacts of western literary trends or thoughts on fiction writers will also be explored. In addition, representative short stories and novels of different schools will be appreciated and studied in depth.

The learning outcomes are:

1.General knowledge of the history of modern Chinese fiction
2.Impacts of western literary trends on Chinese writers
Knowledge of the basic concepts of literary theory and their application in analyzing and interpreting modern Chinese texts.

In general,the course covers the following topics:

• Close reading to certain short stories, eg, Lu Xun
• Communist fiction: Mao Dun, Lao She and Ba Jin
• Shen Cong wen, a real poet
• Shanghai, an isolated land of reality and literature： Eileen Chang，Qian Zhong shu

Reference:

C. T. Hsia. A History of Modern Chinese Fiction. Indiana university Press, 1999.

Lau, Joseph S.M. and Howard Goldblatt, eds. The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press; 1995. 

Denton, Kirk (ed.). Modern Chinese Literary Thought: Writings on Literature, 1893-1945. Stanford: Stanford University Press; 1995.

A Selective Guide to Modern Chinese Literature. Leiden: E.J. Brill; 1989. (4 vols.)